unOrdinary: An Old Friend Returns

My Time In The Circus

Drawing Evie's attention with questions about her opinions of the fight also lured Roland and Terrance away from the semi-private conversation John and Sera were having on the opposite end of the football field.

"Where did you learn to fight like that, Eloise?"

"A little bit here and there. I've done some Tang Soo Do and Taekkyeon but most of my training is in Taekwondo and Shorin-Ryu."

"But aren't you a high tier? Why would you need to know how to defend yourself in this way?"

"Yes, I was blessed with a powerful ability but that does not mean that I have not had to defend myself. There are situations where you cannot use your ability and if you have no other defense, you will get hurt."

That's when Terrence, who had been as quiet as a church mouse, spoke up.

"So how do you know John?"

"John and I go way back. We've known each other for years."

"How did you guys meet?"

"We met at the beach one summer. And then we kept meeting up there every summer. But what about you guys, how did you become friends?"

Roland was the first to respond.

"We are all lower-level tiers and as such we are typically subjected to bullying by the high tiers."

Evie and Terrance looked surprised at Roland for saying this in front of a high-tier, albeit a new high-tier student who had seemed friendly up till now. But they did not deny it, nodding their heads at Roland's remark.

"I met Evie the second day of school when I accidentally bumped into Clio and she gave me a black eye and a headache with one of her Dizzy punches. She helped take me to Doctor Darren," said Roland.

"And that's where I was, on a cot in the back, nursing a twisted ankle after Heinz ran past me on the way to lunch and pushing me down the stairs in the process," replied Terrence.

"That's when we decided that we should stick together," concluded Evie.

"I see. I'm glad you found each other. The school seems too dangerous for one to go through alone. And Sera?"

"Well, Sera and I met when she defended me from Brea. I had bumped into Brea and she had been offended that I'd touched her. Seraphina stepped in, humiliating Brea and drawing the attention of Arlo, the former Wellston King, so Brea backed off. She also saved me from Hower who was threatening me into do his homework for him. But I guess we became closer after the tragic loss of Seraphina's powers. Now we hang out after class and we meet up doing these training sessions."

"It must have been scary for Seraphina to lose her powers like that."

"I'm sure they will return soon," said Evie defensively.

"Of course. Doctor Darren is looking into it, and in the meantime she has you guys for support." I said hoping to conciliate the group and show that I did not mean any harm with my questions.

Deciding to switch to a safer topic, Evie chose to change topics.

"Were you really a part of a travelling circus?"

"Yes, the group was called Stardust Circus. They consist of aerials, trapeze, floor acrobatics, and trampoline artists as well as contortionists and clowns. Personally, I find clowns to be freaky, so I stayed away from those during my time."

Roland, Terrance and Evie seemed completely drawn in by my time at the circus so I spent a while talking to them about my daily schedule, waking up and feeding the lions and tigers and well as training with contortionists and confronting my dislike for clowns to learn how to fit into their one tiny clown car.

So engaged was I in my storytelling, and so enraptured was my audience, that when John and Sera came back from their talk, no one noticed until John cleared his throat, loudly for probably the second or third time.

Cutting my story about the time the white tiger escaped in transit into the countryside, I promised Evie, Roland and Terrance that I would tell them the rest the next time. John and Sera seemed flustered but not red enough to indicate that the conversation had been all bad. It was too much to hope that they had made up.

John motioned towards the gates and said he had to get going. I said my goodbyes to everyone and joined him. When we had reached the gates, and were well out of earshot, I decided to ask John about his talk with Sera.

"So... what did you guys talk about?"